Clarion Content

Patriot


Barack Obama quoted Mark Twain today in a speech in Independence, Missouri. "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

Labels: 2008's President, political quips-n-quotes

A few political notes, links and interesting articles the Clarion has encountered on the internet.

The first is a blog for the American Prospect written by a fellow named Ezra Klein. It is delightfully subtitled, "Momma said wonk you out." Klein is a sharp observer, who peppers his posts with good links for further research on a given topic. (A huge plus in the Clarion's estimation.) He is acclaimed, having written for the LA Times, The Guardian, and The New Republic, among others. Delightfully, he is still a man of the people who enjoys writing about booze a bit.

This next one is from another site we enjoy tremendously, though the site isn't for the faint of heart or stomach. We love the Best of Craig's list, but we warn it can be raunchy, if highly hilarious. In this case an anonymous poster in the San Francisco Bay Area found perfect pitch in a political post called, "Happy Fifth Anniversary."

In a reversal from the amateur brilliance of that last link, this one is strictly professional. It is an article from Time Magazine analyzing reaction to Focus on the Family leader, James Dobson's comments on Barak Obama's Christianity. It was an interesting read.

With the general election bearing down on us, full steam, electoral math is all the rage. Here is an interesting piece from the New York Times debunking the claim Hillary was making about Obama being unable to win the White House without winning Appalachia. To paraphrase the highlight line, 'It may be true that that no Democrat has won the White House since 1916 without taking West Virginia, as Clinton pointed out. But they all could have won without it. The margins of victory in those races ranged from 23 to 515 electoral votes. West Virginia has five.'

This link is not electoral math, but a whole different kind of fun math. Pissed at how their spending your tax money? Ever wanted to try your hand at remaking the Federal Budget? Well this is the place.

One more, kind of a hoot. Apparently John Mayer supports Ron Paul...who incidentally is holding his own convention.

That's all folks!!! Good night now. *

Labels: 2008's President, interesting links, Politics, Pop Culture

Or more pointedly, down on life in America?

The Clarion has another statistic (via the Economist) to make you feel better, and grateful.

In Nigeria, fewer than 5% of those arrested are ever brought through the criminal justice system, most are simply extorted for bribes. Innocence or guilt is not relevant.

The founder of a Nigerian NGO, Prisoners' Rehabilitation and Welfare Action says in twenty years she has never seen a prisoner who has not suffered physical or psychological torture by the police.

Labels: thought

The Clarion has heard from many continued supporters of the invasion of Iraq.

"It didn't matter that Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction."

"It didn't matter that Iraq didn't have ballistic missiles with the range to reach North America."

"It didn't matter that (this time) Iraq had not attacked any of its sovereign neighbors."

"It didn't matter that the United Nations didn't support the invasion."

"It didn't matter than many of America's allies from the first Gulf War, didn't support the invasion."

"It didn't matter that Iraq was in no way connected with the attacks of September 11, 2001."

"It didn't matter that Iraq was not allied with Al-Qeda."

"It didn't matter Iraq was not harboring any Al-Qeda operatives."

Why didn't it matter? What is the rationale? (ex post facto, of course.)

"Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator. The man was unfairly imprisoning, torturing, mass murdering his own people. Such evil had to go. It was America's duty and right, alone, if necessary."

Where are these supporters of the Iraq invasion today? Why are they not clamoring for an American invasion of Zimbabwe? Robert Mugabe is an evil dictator. He is imprisoning, toruring and mass murdering his own people in an effort to maintain his personal power. His exploitation of the country has been without limits, almost without parallel, this side of Kim Jong-il.

Where is the outrage? Where is hue and cry for the imminent invasion of Zimbabwe on behalf of its suffering people? Does the color of the skin of most of Zimbabwe's citizens somehow make them less valuable to America? Is it their country's lack of fossil fuels? Pre-Mugabe, Zimbabwe was once the "Breadbasket of Africa."

Why is it less valued?

King George?

Viceroy Cheney?

Senator Lieberman?

Senator McCain?

Senator Obama? (Who opposing the Iraq invasion, from the beginning, has an opportunity to weigh in differently...)

The Clarion's view, on both Iraq and Zimbabwe, war is admission of failure. Victory is peace.

Labels: Africa, energy policy, Middle East, Politics, war

Please allow the Clarion a brief follow-up to the note we offered Tuesday about Alabama football having its 10th player arrested in the year since Nick Saban took over the program. As we detailed, we were not exactly surprised. Nor should any Alabama alumni who took a look at Saban's record on the way in be surprised.

In the day following the publishing of this post we happened upon a terrific article about former Maryland basketball star, Len Bias: the tragedy, his family and college athletics. This long, thoughtful article by Michael Weinreb took us on a trip down memory lane to a time when college athletics, American news and sports coverage were very different. While not blaming society and exonerating Bias or the University of Maryland, Weinreb did an excellent job of highlighting American culture's complicity creating the multi-billion dollar business of college sports outside the framework of education, and outside, if not outright against, the university's mission and remit.

When Len Bias died of cocaine overdose just days after getting selected with the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, it was a shock. A huge shock. When athlete #10 got arrested at Alabama for selling coke to undercover cops, it was no surprise at all.

What a long strange trip its been. Sadly, very few, perhaps almost none, of the changes along the way reflect positively on American culture or American higher education.

Labels: college basketball, college football, Pop Culture, sports

The Clarion has heard from many continued supporters of the invasion of Iraq.

"It didn't matter that Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction."

"It didn't matter that Iraq didn't have ballistic missiles with the range to reach North America."

"It didn't matter that (this time) Iraq had not attacked any of its sovereign neighbors."

"It didn't matter that the United Nations didn't support the invasion."

"It didn't matter than many of America's allies from the first Gulf War, didn't support the invasion."

"It didn't matter that Iraq was in no way connected with the attacks of September 11, 2001."

"It didn't matter that Iraq was not allied with Al-Qeda."

"It didn't matter Iraq was not harboring any Al-Qeda operatives."

Why didn't it matter? What is the rationale? (ex post facto, of course.)

"Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator. The man was unfairly imprisoning, torturing, mass murdering his own people. Such evil had to go. It was America's duty and right, alone, if necessary."

Where are these supporters of the Iraq invasion today? Why are they not clamoring for an American invasion of Zimbabwe? Robert Mugabe is an evil dictator. He is imprisoning, toruring and mass murdering his own people in an effort to maintain his personal power. His exploitation of the country has been without limits, almost without parallel, this side of Kim Jong-il.

Where is the outrage? Where is hue and cry for the imminent invasion of Zimbabwe on behalf of its suffering people? Does the color of the skin of most of Zimbabwe's citizens somehow make them less valuable to America? Is it their country's lack of fossil fuels? Pre-Mugabe, Zimbabwe was once the "Breadbasket of Africa."

Why is it less valued?

King George?

Viceroy Cheney?

Senator Lieberman?

Senator McCain?

Senator Obama? (Who opposing the Iraq invasion, from the beginning, has an opportunity to weigh in differently...)

The Clarion's view, on both Iraq and Zimbabwe, war is admission of failure. Victory is peace.

Labels: Middle East, Politics, thought

"Fantastic"


A few quick thoughts on the top prospects in the NBA Draft. This is in the order that we would rate their talents.

One note, this is an exceptionally weak draft filled with overrated future back-ups.

1. Derrick Rose, Memphis- Looks like a super solid point guard in an era of point guards. If Chicago takes him number one, how will they break up their logjam in the back court? Kirk Hinrich has value. Larry "Hustle" Hughes is just happy to cash the checks. Ben Gordon can score off the bench. Chris Duhon quit on the team last year. Only Hinrich and Gordon are tradebble.

2. O.J. Mayo, USC- He survived a year in California with those initials, he has to get some credit for that. Seems a bit demented, but hey cameras have been following him around since eighth grade. He has more in common with a childhood Hollywood star than most of his fellow draft picks. He can score, but is he big enough or quick enough to defend two guards?

3. Kevin Love, UCLA- Perhaps the best passing big man since Bill Walton. Sure, yes, he needs to get in the weight room and lose the baby fat. He is a great teammate. He hustles every night. He is as fundamentally sound as they come, what a basketball IQ! Is he too slow too defend in the NBA? Maybe.

4. Russell Westbrook, UCLA- He is an excellent defender who hustles and plays hard. He is totally unselfish and happy to make the guys around him better. No question about his ability to play NBA defense. He was a winner at the college level.

5. Joe Alexander, West Virginia- A bright, athletic kid who hasn't been playing basketball nearly as long as most of these guys because his dad was a diplomat and he grew up in Taiwan. Word is he speaks some Mandarin, so there's that. Also, word is when the Nets worked him out last week, he put his elbow on the rim, several times. They say he can reach 12 feet from a standstill jump.

6. Michael Beasley, Kansas State- Shawn Kemp's personality and work ethic without the body. Beasley measured two full inches shorter than he was listed at K-State. On his way to one year living at a college, he was kicked out of approximately 11 high schools, give or take. He has a better chance of making the all-penitentiary team than the All-Star team. He is too small to player power forward and too slow to play small forward. Glenn Robinson ring any bells? He, too, lit up the NCAA on team with a bunch of scrubs in a big time conference.

7. Darrell Arthur, Kansas- He is very athletic, but needs to bulk up. He looks like a smooth shooter. He played a lot of big games in college and came up big in the biggest of them all, the national championship.

8. Brandon Rush, Kansas- The question is where does fit in the NBA? He is heady, he is quick, he's a great defender, he can score a little, he's a character guy. What's not to like? A sixth man, perhaps? Clarion fave Bill Simmons compares him to one of the keys to the Celtics run, multiple ring owner, James Posey.

9. Roy Hibbert, Georgetown- Don't all Georgetown centers come with a guarantee of at least ten years in the NBA? Yes he is slow, slower than slow, but he is a 7' 2", fundamentally sound and plays good defense. He won't be a star, but he will be a contributing role player.

10 D.J. Augustin, Texas- This is the guy, after Kevin Love, the Clarion would most like to see our beloved Knicks take. He has great speed, he's a tremendous dribbler and his heart can't be underestimated. Seriously. His Texas team got better in the best conference in the NCAA last year, after Kevin Durant left. Yes, we know, he's too small. (Note that was the rap on the real MVP, CP III, and the Celtics Rajan Rondo, too.)

A few more notes...

We have no opinion on Danilo Gallinari, a young kid from Italy. We have never seen him, but we hear he is slow. We are praying he is not the Knicks pick, but Coach Mike D'Antoni reportedly played with Gallinari's Dad. Uh-oh.

Eric Gordon is terrible, awful, overrated, fat, slow, selfish and he can't shoot. ESPN's Chad Forde who gushes about everybody says, "I'm scared of this kid. He collapsed in the second half of the season. He has no handle. He's undersized."

Mario Chalmers of Kansas will be a contributing member of somebody's NBA rotation for a long time. He plays at NBA speed. He is an intense battler.

Chris Douglas-Roberts from Memphis will play and score points in the NBA. Will have a better career than at least 15 guys who are drafted ahead of him. Ditto for D.J. White of Indiana.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute of UCLA has the best name in the draft and the talent to replace Bruce Bowen as the Spurs designated defender.

Labels: college basketball, NBA, sports, The Knicks

"The Players Dorm"


What?

No way? You don't say...

You bring in Nick Saban to coach your football team and 10 players have been arrested in the year he has been there!!!

Shocking. Okay, NOT!

Silly us, we at the Clarion had this quaint notation that University of Alabama's mission was education related. After all, we read the school's mission statement as it is publicly defined on the UA website, "To advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of the State through quality programs of teaching, research, and service."

Of course, one had to doubt the veracity of that hoo-ha when Coach Saban was given a salary that is greater than the President of the University, the Dean of College of Arts & Sciences and the Governor of the state of Alabama, combined.

Labels: college football, sports

One of the Clarion's original inspirations passed away yesterday.

George Carlin, you will be dearly missed.




A couple of Carlin beauties, from a life that was an American tapestry.

"If crime fighters fight crime, and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?"

Unfortunately, the answer was all too self-evident.

Accused of being dark and bitter, Carlin held a mirror up to the American self, the parts we didn't want to face, were afraid to admit, our own letdowns and failures.

But as he also said, "Scratch any cynic, and you'll find a disappointed idealist."

Carlin believed in people, he was an American idealist at heart.

People we can do better.

George, we at the Clarion wil always be grateful for you calling us on it.

Labels: George Carlin, Language, Pop Culture

One of the Clarion's original inspirations passed away yesterday.

George Carlin, you will be dearly missed.




A couple of Carlin beauties, from a life that was an American tapestry.

"If crime fighters fight crime, and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?"

Unfortunately, the answer was all too self-evident.

Accused of being dark and bitter, Carlin held a mirror up to the American self, the parts we didn't want to face, were afraid to admit, our own letdowns and failures.

But as he also said, "Scratch any cynic, and you'll find a disappointed idealist."

Carlin believed in people, he was an American idealist at heart.

People we can do better.

George, we at the Clarion wil always be grateful for you calling us on it.

Labels: George Carlin, political quips-n-quotes, Pop Culture, thought

Our friends Duck & Cover are all over it again...

The Clarion was disappointed to read about a flip-flop on offshore drilling from a Democrat we respect, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. Webb, a former Marine, and Secretary of the Navy, is being touted as a possible Obama running mate. But when we looked into it further, we found that Webb had not reversed course on offshore oil drilling. He had, rather, advocated drilling for natural gas be allowed 50 miles offshore. Natural gas is a better option than oil for a panoply of reasons.



Read Duck and Cover
at the Blue Pyramid.

Labels: energy policy, Politics

Our friends Duck & Cover are all over it again...

The Clarion was disappointed to read about a flip-flop on offshore drilling from a Democrat we respect, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. Webb, a former Marine, and Secretary of the Navy, is being touted as a possible Obama running mate. But when we looked into it further, we found that Webb had not reversed course on offshore oil drilling. He had, rather, advocated drilling for natural gas be allowed 50 miles offshore. Natural gas is a better option than oil for a panoply of reasons.



Read Duck and Cover
at the Blue Pyramid.

Labels: Duck and Cover, energy policy, Politics, Pop Culture

If only Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, et al. had heeded the advice of the old master...

"To build may have to be the slow laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day." ---Winston Churchill

Labels: political quips-n-quotes, Sayings

The price of gold has climbed through the roof in recent years, sparking, believe it or not another gold rush in America. The Clarion is not talking about the rush of folks bringing Aunt Betty's gold jewelry into the local pawn shop and turning it around for cash. Although, anecdotally, according the ad volume for such transactions, there is a lot of momentum for that kind of gold rush, too.

The Clarion, however, is talking about the old school, 49er style, honest-to-goodness, gold rush, as in take your panning equipment to a silty river or stake a claim to some land and break out your picks and shovels. The price of gold has crept up to near $900 per ounce. (Something Clarion was predicting, to loud laughter, as long ago as September 2000.) This has sparked a greatly renewed interest in gold amongst average folks. Gold prospecting vacations are at an all-time high. Mining hobby and supply shops can't keep the required equipment on the shelves, some are reporting as long as a three month backlog on new prospecting supplies. The urge stretches from coast to coast and everywhere in between, Indiana, Vermont, and Michigan, as well as more familiar, California and Alaska are just a few of the many states amateur prospectors are excited about exploring. Some experts estimate that less than 15% of the total gold deposits in California have been mined to date.

Much as it sounds like a fun adventure and/or vacation, word is don't count on it paying for the cost of your trip. If you have fun in the great outdoors, searching for gold is another way to do it, and like fishing, the stories of catches/finds get bigger and better with time.

A final word from the Economist, "The game has not changed that much since the 1850s, according to Steve Herschbach, the owner of the Alaska Mining and Diving shop in Anchorage. He figures. “If you think digging ditches in pouring down rain while being eaten alive by bugs is fun, well you're gonna love gold mining.”

Labels: Pop Culture, Practical Advice

This is not an endorsement.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, facing race, Politics

This is not an endorsement.

Labels: 2008's President, music, Politics, thought

Who is the greatest tennis player of all-time?

The Clarion has an answer.






Duh!

Steffi Graf.




And don't you dare say that was a trick question.

As for the men, the Clarion has grown quite sick of the modern hype machine. Every new athlete has to be the best, the greatest ever.

This mindset was spawned in the hyper-competitive thinking that says that, "Second place is first loser." The Clarion firmly disagrees.

In our view, during the Reagan era there was a societal backlash in America against the touchy-feely, everyone who participates is a winner mentality of the late 1970's. By the end of the millennium the pendulum had swung so far back the other way, that before she won a tournament, ESPN made Anna Kournikova, the subject of an hour long, athletes of the Sports Century show.

It is also this mindset, that success is only achieved if you are the best, that is behind performance enhancing drugs. At some point there is going to be a limit to the human body's feats. The records for the 100 meters, the long jump, and the mile are not going to continue to be lowered endlessly. There will be no day of the 5 second 100 meter dash, or the 60 foot long jump, or the two minute mile. Not as our species is currently conceptualized, genetics or drugs may change things, but...we digress.

Suffice it to say we at the Clarion think, Tiger Woods aside, there has been massive over-hyping of recent athletes as the best ever or greatest ever at their particular sport.

Having said that, can you differentiate the Grand Slam records of the four male tennis greats above into a clear cut best ever? Could you even identify whose Grand Slam record is whose? (In no particular order...)

Player A had 12 Grand Slam titles and 3 runner's up finishes when this article was written.

Player B had 11 Grand Slam titles and 6 runner's up finishes when this article was written.

Player C had 8 Grand Slam titles and 11 runner's up finishes when this article was written.

Player D had 14 Grand Slam titles and 4 runner's up finishes when this article was written.

Who is the clear cut best ever? Maybe they were all terrific, all-time greats?

(Note: This is all tied up in a demand for resolution that the uncertainty of the universe belies.)

Further hints...

Player A had won 3 Australian Opens, 5 Wimbledons and 4 U.S. Opens when this article was written.

Player B had won 3 Australian Opens, 2 French Opens, 4 Wimbledons and 2 U.S. Opens when this article was written.

Player C had won 2 Australian Opens, 3 French Opens, and 3 U.S. Opens when this article was written.

Player D had won 2 Australian Opens, 7 Wimbledons, and 3 U.S. Opens when this article was written.

Got it?

And...

Does one of them have to be the best?



Player A---Roger Federer

Player B---Rod Laver

Player C---Ivan Lendl

Player D---Pete Sampras

Labels: sports, tennis, thought

We offer for your perusal a special Corey Booker edition of Pithy F*rging Sayings.

First, here he is paraphrasing Dr. Martin Luther King,

"The problems of today are not the vitriolic words and the evil actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence and inaction of the good people."

Here in his own words,

"We need a prophetic leader--somebody who can raise us above our baser angels and show that we are all tied in a common garment of destiny."

"People say white people have difficulty speaking about race? America has difficulty speaking about race. People--black and white--who can't fit me into their comfortable paradigm for how I should be get uncomfortable. I'm going to continue being me. I am going to be as authentically and unapologetically me as possible."

"I am a raging idealist, and I think that's a good thing."

"True leadership is not exhibited by how many people one can get to follow but by how many people join together in leading."

"It's all about the energy, and the more you throw positive energy and unconditional love in the world, the more its going to hit and stick."

Booker, a native New Jerseyian, was an All-American tight end at Standford, who subsequently went on to Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar and then graduated Yale Law.

Follow this link to old, pithy sayings posts.

These quotes primarily came from an Esquire article about Booker which reaffirmed the Clarion's conviction in this amazing person. (The Clarion and Esquire have both been on the Booker bandwagon for years.)

Labels: Politics, Sayings

Map close up here.


Not content with having strengthened the hand of the hardest of the hardliners in Iran, the Bush administration is intent on turning the only nuclear armed, Muslim majority county, Pakistan, into a virulent enemy of the United States.

To the crusaders and born-agains in the Bush administration this conflict is viewed as part of an inevitable continuum of struggle. Good vs. Evil is the code. They aren’t worried about being left behind, in their apocalyptic world view, nuclear conflagration will only wipe out sinners, Jews and other apostates. Thus, when an Israeli cabinet minister says an attack on Iran is inevitable, the Bush team is silent. When Obama says he might speak directly to the government of Iran, he is an appeaser (of Evil.)

Unfortunately, for those who don't support that view, the United States military has been active in Pakistan, and on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Much like Iraq, the Bush administration is attempting to win hearts and minds with bombs. Also much like Iraq, this conflict is embedded in nation vs. nation battles for control of borders delineated by Western mapmakers and the accompanying state coffers.

This week saw eleven Pakistani soldiers, ostensibly American allies, killed by United States bombing. The Bush team has gone with its standard response, deny, deny, deny. It wasn’t our fault. They fired first. They were working with insurgents in the area. Unfortunately, American credibility in the region is abysmal. So even when American military commanders and institutions are telling the truth, they are not believed. This is not in the least because the faux-supporters of democracy in the Bush regime, have actually supported and continue to support the rule of Pakistan dictator Perez Musharraf to the tune of billions of American taxpayer dollars against the will of the Pakistani people. Sadly, a leader who initially offered hope, Afghanistan’s Hamed Karzai is being stained with same taint of American stooge-dom, co-option and corruption.

(In this incident the facts and circumstances are unclear.)

Labels: Central Asia, nuclear issues, Politics

Map close up here.


Not content with having strengthened the hand of the hardest of the hardliners in Iran, the Bush administration is intent on turning the only nuclear armed, Muslim majority county, Pakistan, into a virulent enemy of the United States.

To the crusaders and born-agains in the Bush administration this conflict is viewed as part of an inevitable continuum of struggle. Good vs. Evil is the code. They aren’t worried about being left behind, in their apocalyptic world view, nuclear conflagration will only wipe out sinners, Jews and other apostates. Thus, when an Israeli cabinet minister says an attack on Iran is inevitable, the Bush team is silent. When Obama says he might speak directly to the government of Iran, he is an appeaser (of Evil.)

Unfortunately, for those who don't support that view, the United States military has been active in Pakistan, and on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Much like Iraq, the Bush administration is attempting to win hearts and minds with bombs. Also much like Iraq, this conflict is embedded in nation vs. nation battles for control of borders delineated by Western mapmakers and the accompanying state coffers.

This week saw eleven Pakistani soldiers, ostensibly American allies, killed by United States bombing. The Bush team has gone with its standard response, deny, deny, deny. It wasn’t our fault. They fired first. They were working with insurgents in the area. Unfortunately, American credibility in the region is abysmal. So even when American military commanders and institutions are telling the truth, they are not believed. This is not in the least because the faux-supporters of democracy in the Bush regime, have actually supported and continue to support the rule of Pakistan dictator Perez Musharraf to the tune of billions of American taxpayer dollars against the will of the Pakistani people. Sadly, a leader who initially offered hope, Afghanistan’s Hamed Karzai is being stained with same taint of American stooge-dom, co-option and corruption.

(In this incident the facts and circumstances are unclear.)

Labels: Middle East, Politics

The Celtics victory in Game 1 didn't change the Clarion's perspective on the Finals one iota. It is a meaningless win, if the Lakers can get tonight's game. Here's a couple of reasons why we think they will.

One...K.G. can't stick with a good thing. After dominating Pau Gasol in the first half by taking it to the rack and banging the offensive glass, Kevin Garnett started settling for jumpers in the second half. He had something like 16pts and 8 boards at half time, then finished with 24pts and 13 boards. He was fading away on his jump shots, at one point missing nine in a row from the field. Tonight, without his fellow banger Kendrick Perkins, K.G. is going to be counted on to do even more dirty work. (Could P.J. Brown at 38 pull out a miracle???)

Two...The Lakers were right there in Game One. Kobe didn't hit a thing and they were right there. Heck, they led by 6 at halftime and Kobe had hardly been heard from at all. Derek Fisher was the leading scorer at halftime. The Clarion would be quite shocked if the Celtics could hold Kobe down again. And the way Game One went down, if Kobe had been hitting the Lakers might have cruised. If Kobe is on tonight, can the Celtics really outscore the Lakers? We have our doubts.

Three...Coaching. Coaching. Coaching. Given the extra long, extra special, David Stern ordered, three days between games, who do you think made the better adjustments? Phil Jackson or Doc? The nine time champion versus the second game in the Finals guy, hmmm. Yeah, the Clarion thinks that one is pretty obvious. We thought Doc actually had kind of a rough Game One, keeping Rondo on the bench in favor of Cassell way too long, and ignoring crowd igniter Eddie House.

It all adds up to a Lakers win tonight. Heck, the way Game One went, the Clarion is now calling for the Lakers in five. It starts tonight in Boston, and ends next weekend in California, 4-1.

Too bad, we'd prefer the Celtics, but they got the Lakers at their weakest at home in Game One and barely prevailed. It didn't exactly fill their supporters with confidence.

Labels: NBA, Predictions, sports

Discrimination reared its ugly head at Seattle's Safeco Field late last month during a Seattle Mariners baseball game. Apparently it is okay for some couples to innocuously kiss at Safeco Field, but not all.

The story as the Clarion has read it, in brief, is this. Safeco Field like many Major League baseball stadiums has on occasion a "Kissing Cam." This is a brief between innings bit where the camera operators try to catch couples kissing and show them on the big scoreboard screen. All in good fun, right? At Safeco Field, allegedly only if your straight, this is according to a discrimination complaint filed by two young women who recently attended a Mariners game with some friends. The ladies, one Sirbrina Guerrero, and her partner, who has requested anonymity, were attending the game with several friends.

It is an ugly story that raises profound questions about America, and in seemingly liberal, gay friendly Seattle. Why is a kiss between a man and a woman consider "family friendly" and a kiss between two women considered inherently lewd? How wide are the knock-on effects of attacking gay marriage? Whose family values? Whose family is valued?

Guerrero, and her friends were approached by an usher who according to accounts in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said,

"A woman complained that she and her child saw you two. There's children in the crowd. It's not fair for parents to have to explain to their kids why two women are kissing."

The four women have also filed a complaint with the Seattle Mariners. Guerrero and her friends see a straight forward matter of discrimination, quoting from ABC news reports,

"When asked whether she believes Safeco officials singled her and her partner out solely because they were a same-sex couple, Guerrero said, "Absolutely. Otherwise I wouldn't be so upset about it."

"We were acting the same as any other dates that were out there, except we were a lesbian couple," she said. "When you bring a date to a game, you kiss once in a while. But it's not like we were making out. We were just kissing as regular couples do. I would never make out with anyone at a baseball game.

When pressed Mariners representatives were skating very carefully, speaking to ABC news their Director of Public Information said,

"We're trying to figure out the actual behavior that happened; it has nothing to do with the individual. We're taking the claim very seriously, but we're trying to talk to everybody and ascertain exactly what happened, and then we will be able to make a decision on how to proceed."

Fortunately these were some tech savvy, modern young women. They used their phones to take digital photos of other couples in their section kissing in a similar manner. They weren't told to stop. They weren't threatened with ejection. They were heterosexual.

Watch a interview with two of these women here.

While the young women were not ejected from the game, they spent a large portion of their evening at guest services filling out a formal complaint, rather than watching baseball.

Labels: baseball, discrimination, Pop Culture

The Clarion is not torn on the NBA Finals. Our hearts are clearly with the Celtics. Who doesn't want to beat L.A.? Who roots for Kobe Bryant? For us it K.G. all the way...

But, our heads, and if gambling were our bag, our wallets, are with the Lakers. It is mighty hard to predict against the team with the best player in the series, Bryant, and the best coach in the league, Phil Jackson. Jackson, incidentally, is trying to break the legendary Celtic headman Red Auerbach's record for the most championships, all-time, as a coach.

The Celtics have a puncher's chance. The 2-3-2 format of the series, two games in Boston, three in Los Angeles, two back in Boston, gives the Celtics one decided edge. To close out on their home floor the Lakers would have to win the series 4-1, that is a tall order against a team that won 66 games in the regular season. The Lakers also have no one who can guard Kevin Garnett. On top of that, Garnett and center Kendrick Perkins, plus P.J. Brown off of the bench, should give the Celtics a decided size advantage on the boards.

That said, the Clarion still can't talk ourselves in picking the Celtics, but we're rooting for them.

Labels: NBA, Predictions, sports

In a what we hope is the final follow up to a story the Clarion originally reported last summer, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has asked Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to resign by the end of the day. The story which Fox News broke a few hours ago cited numerous issues and concerns SecDef Gates had with the Air Force leadership. The biggest individual incident was the accidental flight of live nuclear weapons over the continental United States last August. The Clarion was outraged at the time and is happy to see senior leadership's heads roll. Mosley had also been implicated in shady dealing surrounding Air Force contracts.

Labels: nuclear issues, Politics

In a what we hope is the final follow up to a story the Clarion originally reported last summer, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has asked Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to resign by the end of the day. The story which Fox News broke a few hours ago cited numerous issues and concerns SecDef Gates had with the Air Force leadership. The biggest individual incident was the accidental flight of live nuclear weapons over the continental United States last August. The Clarion was outraged at the time and is happy to see senior leadership's heads roll. Mosley had also been implicated in shady dealing surrounding Air Force contracts.

Labels: Politics, technology

A group of law students at the University of Ottawa have filed a complaint with Canada's Federal Privacy Commissioner. The students allege Facebook has committed 22 violations of Canadian privacy law. The accusations include that Facebook does not inform members about how their personal, supposedly private, information is disclosed to third parties for advertising and other for-profit activities, and also that it doesn't get permission from Facebook's users to do said information sharing.

The Clarion was concerned earlier this year when the stories surrounding the Facebook beacon broke. Anytime a social networking site concedes it is deliberately tracking users personal information and habits for sale it is worrisome. This kind of search technology is the internet at its most nefarious, privacy invading level.

Among the companies Facebook has informational alliances with Blockbuster Video, CBS, Travelocity, Hot Wire, eBay, The New York Times, Overstock.com, along with many, many others. Blockbuster is currently being sued in Texas over information it got on Facebook's users without their knowledge or consent.

Labels: Pop Culture, technology

Read Senator Clinton's loss encapsulated in the Elizabeth Kubler Ross Five Stages of Dying,

here.


Read the Clintons are yesterday's news,

here.


See a video review of the Clinton campaign,

here.


Read a funny parody from the New Republic about how it would sound if the Detroit Pistons argued about their NBA's Eastern Conference Finals defeat the same way Clinton did her defeat,

here.


Read Gloria Steinem, long a supporter of Senator Clinton switching her endorsement to Obama here. Steinem said more than Clinton could bring herself to, not only did feminist pioneer Steinem say she would vote for Obama, she said she would volunteer. Can Clinton manage this grace? Stay tuned.


Finally, just in case you doubted that she was a chronic disassembler, candidate Clinton had one last run-in with the whole truth Wednesday night as she gave her, "Thanks to South Dakota, you had the last word in this primary season and it was worth the wait."

Or as the facts would have it, Senator, South Dakota had almost the last word, since as Clinton was delivering this speech, a clock on the bottom of the screen showed more than 26 minutes until the polls in Montana closed, delivering the last word of the primary season.

Labels: 2008's President

Believers in the Inferno have suggested there must be a special circle in hell reserved for the meglomaniacal Hillary Clinton. Even on the night when Barack Obama secured the Democratic Presidential nomination, not only did Clinton refuse to concede, she attempted to turn the spotlight back on herself, by saying she was open to considering the Vice Presidential slot on the ticket.

The Clarion would like to make a public service announcement, "Mrs. Clinton, it is not all about you!"

Is is too cynical to call Clinton's supposed interest in the Vice Presidency a bold face lie? After all, the Clarion and many other news sources have caught Clinton in variety of lies and deceptions this political season. It is our firm belief that Clinton has no interest in V.P. position. She has said so all along, and second banana hardly fits with her egomaniacal persona (not to mention the complications involving Bill's role in this set-up.) However, could Clinton be calculating that this pseudo willingness to accept the 2nd position on the ticket is the latest, best way to twist the knife in Obama's back? Now her disgruntled supporters will have one more issue with Obama if he does not select her, one more reason to stay home or vote McCain in the fall.

Senator Clinton, the Republican party and the McCain campaign thank you from the bottom of the hearts. You have done an unbelievable job of distracting voters from the issues and failures associated with this administration. You have achieved what they never could have without you. They can't wait to run against you (and Bill) in 2012. Good work.

Labels: 2008's President, Politics

Read Duck and Cover
at the Blue Pyramid.

Labels: 2008's President, Duck and Cover, political quips-n-quotes

In a less than widely noticed move, Australia formally ended its combat operations in Iraq Sunday. It lowered the Australian flag from its position over Camp Terendak in the southern Iraqi city of Talil. Australia, long a stalwart United States ally, only had 550 combat troops stationed in Iraq. But the symbolism is another humiliating kick in the crotch for the Bush administration's all to aptly named, coalition of the willing. The Australians, long members of the Commonwealth, are considered an integral part of the English speaking alliance, to American eyes, perhaps below only England and Canada. Australia troops were among those of only five countries that fought alongside America during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Australian troops have fought alongside American troops for more than 60 years on three continents. The Australians continue to maintain 1,000 troops as part of the NATO mission to Afghanistan.

The coalition of the willing to provide combat troops in Iraq has dwindled to the United States, Great Britain and in a funky geopolitical hedge, the Republic of Georgia.

Compare this list of coalition members released by the Bush II administration in 2003, with the list compiled by Reuters in April 2008.

Labels: Middle East, Politics, war

In a less than widely noticed move, Australia formally ended its combat operations in Iraq Sunday. It lowered the Australian flag from its position over Camp Terendak in the southern Iraqi city of Talil. Australia, long a stalwart United States ally, only had 550 combat troops stationed in Iraq. But the symbolism is another humiliating kick in the crotch for the Bush administration's all to aptly named, coalition of the willing. The Australians, long members of the Commonwealth, are considered an integral part of the English speaking alliance, to American eyes, perhaps below only England and Canada. Australia troops were among those of only five countries that fought alongside America during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Australian troops have fought alongside American troops for more than 60 years on three continents. The Australians continue to maintain 1,000 troops as part of the NATO mission to Afghanistan.

The coalition of the willing to provide combat troops in Iraq has dwindled to the United States, Great Britain and in a funky geopolitical hedge, the Republic of Georgia.

Compare this list of coalition members released by the Bush II administration in 2003, with the list compiled by Reuters in April 2008.

Labels: Middle East, Politics

A few weeks ago over a delicious Saint Paddy's Day dinner the Clarion's editorial staff heard a brilliant new suggestion for our Things that need to be invented column. Dinner, rather than the traditional corn beef and cabbage, was an oh so tender Guinness beef stew. The suggestion was collective composting. The stew featured an array of delicious fresh vegetables. Their preparation led to a discussion of organic waste products and the difficulty of composting in the modern American townhouse or apartment.

If you don't have a yard or a place to put the grill, locating a spot for the compost bin is all but impossible. However, why can't America's townhouse and apartment complexes provide a shared composting bin? And if America really wanted to get on top of it, these bins could be hooked into methane digestion systems and generators and used to supplement the power grid at each complex.

We all know the landfill problem in America is massive and getting inexorably worse. Do we want to go the way of Italy, where trash accumulation, and illegal dumping has literally brought down the government? Why put biodegradable refuse into a non-biodegradable, plastic bag, wait for a fossil fuel powered, mileage inefficient, truck to pick it up and haul it miles away? Where it will take twenty years for the bag alone to decompose? (Not to mention, most complexes pay someone to fertilize the shared turf areas and subsequently irrigate them with clean drinking water!! America, could we be any more wasteful??)

It should simply be an environmental mandate that all townhouse, condominium and apartment complexes over four units must provide a public composting bin. Then the only problem would be getting lazy, but eco-conscious Americans to use them.

Labels: Invent this, Pop Culture, technology

This week saw the United States of America once again end up on the wrong side of an important weapons systems restrictions treaty. In 1997, it was the Convention to Ban the Use of Land Mines that the United States failed to sign on to. This week it was the Convention on Cluster Munitions more commonly known as cluster bombs.

Like land mines, cluster bombs are an abhorrent device, they are canisters packed with small bombs, called bomblets that spread over a large area when a canister is dropped from a plane or fired from the ground. While this sounds bad enough in and of itself, the real kicker is that like land mines, cluster bombs frequently kill civilians and other innocent bystanders to conflict. Cluster bombs are designed to explode on impact, but frequently do not. The unexploded munitions have killed and maimed thousands in much the same manner that the widely scattered land mines of the past several decades killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of non-combatants.

How on Earth can the United States oppose a treaty to ban the use of these weapons?

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Stephen D. Mull, "We decided not to go to Oslo, because we don't want to give weight to a process that we think is ultimately flawed, because we don't think that any international effort is going to succeed unless you get the major producers and the users of these weapons at the table."

Among the countries that lined up with the United States in refusing to sign on to the convention, the totalitarian People's Republic of China, Pakistan, otherwise known as, the military dictatorship that gave North Korea the Bomb, Vladimir Putin's Russia, along with the Israelis and the Indians. Quite a group of luminaries that America sided with. It is worth noting that the most recent documented use of cluster bombs was during Israel's 2006 conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon. America has not, as yet, used cluster bombs in Iraq.

The Washington Post quoted Navy Commander, Bob Mehal, a Pentagon spokesman, "...cluster munitions have demonstrated military utility, and their elimination from U.S. stockpiles would put the lives of our soldiers and those of our coalition partners at risk."

Sweet. The logic underlying this premise would allow the use of any effective weapons systems; napalm, fire bombing, flamethrowers, land mines, even nuclear weapons. The argument being, if it has demonstrated military utility, there is nothing the United States of America rules out. Awful. Much like the Bush II doctrine of preemptive war, this logic is untenable in the long haul. It begets a kill or be killed mentality that has been implicit in humanity's worst moments.



Twenty some odd years ago Sting thought we humans had cottoned on to it when he wrote the lyrics,

"There's no such thing as a winnable war. It's a lie that we don't believe anymore"


Two years earlier, Matthew Broderick and a computer had discovered in Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes screenplay for the Cold War set, War Games,

"The only way to win the game (global thermal nuclear war,) is not to play."


What happened?

This week the United States undermined the principle behind those two quotes, moving closer to, rather than further from, global annihilation. It was a step in the wrong direction.

It is worth noting that while the United States rejected the Convention on Cluster Munitions under George Bush the II, it refused to sign the Convention to Ban the Use of Land Mines under Clinton I. This is especially important to recognize when Hillary Clinton is now excoriating Barack Obama for his military and foreign policy naivete. What Obama really proposes is change, a move away from group think, a willingness to work outside the confines of the military industrial complex's box.

A final point, a nuanced one at that, the Clarion mentioned earlier that the United States had not yet used cluster bombs in Iraq. NATO's European states have insured, as a matter of policy, NATO troops, including the United States's personnel, do not use cluster bombs in Afghanistan. In fact, the United States has barred the foreign sale of cluster bombs that do not have a 99% detonation rate on impact. A small step to be sure, but a step. Unfortunately, absent a unilateral ban, which the Convention on Cluster Munitions calls on signatories to impose with eight years, and the Clarion strongly supports, America will have to count on Pentagon auditors to insure only "good" cluster bombs are being sold. It will have to count on its military commanders to insure that no cluster bombs are being used.

Some solace.

Labels: Politics, technology

Labels: 2008 presidential election, facing race